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Plans to introduce a problem-plagued waste charging scheme in Hong Kong will be reviewed by the end of May after a two-month pilot scheme and a report will be submitted to legislators, the government has announced. In response to a query from Ming Pao, the Environmental Protection Department said on Thursday the pilot scheme which […]

Hong Kong’s tax revenue dropped by HK$18.2 billion in the last financial year, the second straight year of decline, amid slumps on the stock exchange and in the property market. The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) announced on Thursday that it had collected a provisional sum of HK$342 billion in tax revenue in 2023-24, five per […]

By Hector Retamal with Qian Ye China launched a probe on Friday to collect samples from the far side of the Moon, a world first as Beijing pushes ahead with an ambitious programme that aims to send a crewed lunar mission by 2030. A rocket carrying the Chang’e-6 lunar probe blasted off from the Wenchang […]

A prosecution witness in the national security trial of Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai has denied defence allegations that he had fabricated his court evidence in exchange for a shorter jail term after earlier lying to police. Paralegal Chan Tsz-wah on Friday insisted he was telling the truth after the defence challenged his credibility […]

The Wall Street Journal will shift its Asia headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore, it said on Thursday in a letter sent to staff and seen by AFP. The US newspaper said its decision comes after other foreign firms have reconsidered their operations in Chinese financial hub Hong Kong. WSJ editor-in-chief Emma Tucker said in […]

Hong Kong has again ranked low in a global press freedom index, as a watchdog cited an “unprecedented series of setbacks” including newsroom closures and journalist arrests under Beijing’s national security law. The city placed 135 out of 180 countries and territories in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s annual press freedom ranking, released on Friday […]

Hong Kong Free Press has been shortlisted for the International Press Institute’s (IPI) 2024 Free Media Pioneer award. The list showcases the “power and resilience of the free press,” according to the IPI – a 73-year-old global press freedom organisation with consultative status at the UN, UNESCO and the Council of Europe. “These outstanding organisations […]

Seventy per cent of Hong Kong’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) say their income has dropped below pre-pandemic levels, despite Covid-19 restrictions being lifted a year ago, a survey has found. The Hong Kong Small and Medium Enterprises Association and Junior Chamber International Hong Kong conducted a survey in April, interviewing 568 SMEs from sectors […]

Hong Kong must improve communications to manage tourists’ expectations of fireworks displays, a tourism veteran has said after visitors from mainland China aired complaints about a scaled-down pyrotechnics display on Labour Day. It came as Hong Kong saw more than 181,000 arrivals from the mainland on the first day of the May 1 “golden week”. […]

Pro-democracy Cantopop star Denise Ho has said she will perform an online gig this month having been unable to secure a live venue. “Apart from the fact that it’s so difficult for me to do a ‘normal’ show in this abnormal place (I should say it’s impossible, I can’t book a show, I can’t go […]

It is “extremely regretful” that Hong Kong has not seen any labour rights marches since 2019, the chairperson of one of the last remaining opposition parties has said as the city marked its fifth Labour Day without protests. Chan Po-ying, leader of the League of Social Democrats (LSD), told HKFP on Thursday that the government […]

Hong Kong last month recorded its hottest April since meteorological records began in 1884, according to the city’s weather observatory. Last month’s average temperature of 26.4 degrees Celsius (79.5 degrees Fahrenheit) in Hong Kong made it “the warmest April” since records began 140 years ago, the observatory said on Wednesday. “Summer is not yet here […]

A 37-year-old man, suspected to be linked to several burglaries at Lantau’s Sea Ranch, has died following a suspected blow to the head. The mainland man was found unconscious at the isolated resort’s pier in the early hours of Wednesday, police told HKFP on Thursday. At 5:39am, a passer-by reported to police that a man […]

The Court of Appeal will hear an appeal by the Department of Justice (DoJ) in November, as they challenge an earlier decision to clear Democratic Party Lo Kin-hei of an unlawful assembly charge linked to the 2019 protests and unrest. According to the court diary, the case will be heard on November 20, with proceedings […]

By Matthew Walsh The death toll from a highway collapse in southern China’s Guangdong province has risen to 48, state media said Thursday, as rescue work continued. Heavy rains caused a stretch of road running from Meizhou city towards Dabu county to cave in at around 2:10 am on Wednesday (1810 GMT Tuesday), according to […]

A Hong Kong court will hear an appeal from the head of the city’s largest journalist group Ronson Chan in November, more than a year after he was sentenced to five days in prison over obstructing a police officer while reporting. Chan, the chair of the Hong Kong Journalists Association (HKJA), is scheduled to challenge […]

Carers living in subdivided flats spend an average of 11 hours on weekdays taking care of their children, partners or parents, a survey has revealed, highlighting the issue of unpaid labour in the city’s disadvantaged community. Among the 317 caregivers interviewed, most of them were full-time carers while some had jobs. A total of 92 […]

At least 19 people died when part of a highway collapsed in southern China’s Guangdong province on Wednesday, state media reported. State broadcaster CCTV said a stretch of road between Meizhou city and Dabu county in Guangdong province caved in at around 2:10 am (1810 GMT). The incident caused 18 vehicles to become trapped and […]

Hong Kong saw 9,437 cloud-to-ground lightening strikes across a 14-hour period beginning at 9pm on Tuesday, as severe storms lashed the territory, according to the Observatory. The Observatory said that heavy showers and squally thunderstorms will continue during Wednesday’s May Day holiday: “Showers will be heavy at times. Moderate east to northeasterly winds, gusty at […]

By David Owens Health is a positive construct which exists along a spectrum. Almost all of us have the capacity to be healthier. Too often, narratives around health focus on metrics of disease. Conversations around cancer treatment, the incidence of heart disease or the numbers of hospitals and intensive care beds are reflective of a […]

A Hong Kong court has upheld a lower judge’s decision that the city’s courts do not have jurisdiction over the national security committee, effectively barring media mogul Jimmy Lai from challenging the government after it forbid him from hiring a British lawyer for his trial. Three Court of Appeal judges sided with the High Court […]

Hong Kong’s ban on single-use plastics is going smoothly, Chief Executive John Lee has said, despite confusion surrounding how the rules are being implemented and poor compliance. Speaking at his weekly press briefing on Tuesday, the city’s leader said more people were purchasing reusable alternatives, suggesting that Hongkongers were beginning to change their daily habits. […]

By Billy Wong and Cherry Kee of the Hong Kong Committee on Children’s Rights April 30 is International Spank Out Day, urging the public to stop the corporal punishment of children. But can the policies and laws of Hong Kong comply with this objective? The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child defines […]

A US bill has been introduced to rename part of the street in front of Hong Kong’s representative office in Washington DC “Jimmy Lai Way.” The move aims to honour the 76-year-old media tycoon currently facing a national security trial in Hong Kong, though the city’s government urged the US not to “interfere” in its […]